Luxurious Hotel Complements Rustic Idaho

MOEUR D`ALENE, IDAHO — The thickly wooded shores of Lake Coeur d`Alene figure to be among the last places a traveler would look for one of the world`s most luxurious hotels.

But that`s what newspaper publisher Duane Hagadone has created here in Idaho`s northern panhandle.

His $60-million investment provides a striking contrast for boaters and hikers as they round Tubbs Point and catch sight of the brand-new hotel on the lake`s north shore.

The 18 stories of the Coeur d`Alene Resort leap up to gothic-style gables and spires, an improbable spectacle among the stands of green pines, cedars, aspen and oaks that stretch for 100 miles around the trout-rich lake.

But Hagadone intended his new hotel, which opened in May, as a complement for rustic outdoor activities like big-game hunting, fishing, hiking and cross-country skiing.

And there`s no doubt the new Coeur d`Alene is luxurious.

It offers a special wine cellar where guests can park their exclusive vintages. And room service for boats at the adjacent marina.

No room in the hotel`s tower is less than 600 square feet. Each has custom wallpapering and all wood is colored with a specially formulated stain. Room service prepares toast in your room, ``to get it just right.``

The hotel is topped by a lavish $1,500-a-night penthouse suite. But rooms can be rented for as low as $59.50 in the first 17 floors of the hotel.

And rooms in the adjacent building, once known as the North Shore Hotel, go for as low as $39.50. The North Shore has been completely gutted, rebuilt and incorporated into the new resort.

The old North Shore operated profitably for decades, but it was not what the travel industry calls a ``destination resort.`` It was the sort of place where one stays for a night or two en route somewhere else. Not so the Coeur d`Alene, many of whose rooms boast wood-burning fireplaces.

``Anyone who comes to Idaho will stay here,`` Hagadone bragged recently. To make sure they do, he`ll ferry them here from the airport at Spokane, Wash., 45 miles away, in vans featuring video recorders playing promotional tapes about the hotel.

Once they arrive, guests will have a floating boardwalk at their door, leading to the city marina. The hotel also owns a private beach and meadow area across the lake, usable only by guests ferried from the hotel.

Outdoor activities, available either on site or from the marina, include swimming, fishing, seaplane rides, tennis, horseback riding, golf and hiking the adjacent five-mile trail through the woods.

The hotel also has its own bowling alley, a computerized golf course, raquetball, steam rooms and an indoor swimming pool.

Three national forests are within easy driving distance. Fast-flowing local streams bear chinook salmon, mackinaw, kamloop and kokanee.